The invention relates to a method for sorting objects, each of which is provided with a parameter, according to the value of this parameter. A device for performing such a method is known from the article by P.N Armstrong and M. Rem, A serial sorting machine, Comp. and Electr. Eng., Vol. 9, 1982, 53-58. After sorting, the objects constitute an output file, while the value of the parameter in the output file varies monotonically decreasing, monotonically rising, monotonically decreasing, monotonically non-decreasing. Only the last case is considered below, but that is not a factual limitation. It is clear that sorting according to a decreasing value of the parameter amounts to the same as sorting according to an increasing value on the complement of the parameter. In the latter case, the parameter is therefore implicitly given. In particular, the invention relates to a method for sorting objects, each of which is provided with a parameter, according to the value of this parameter, the said objects being successively presented in an input file and the said sorting taking place by presenting the objects to a direct sorting machine which offers space for a sub-file of at least a pre-determined number of objects. The known method can be used if the number of objects in the input file does not exceed a pre-determined upper limit determined by the equipment. If a larger number of objects is presented no sorting can take place. In the case of a larger input file it is possible to divide this into sub-files, to sort each sub-file separately, and to combined (merge) the sorted sub-files. If during this combination an object that forms part of a particular sub-file must, however, be placed between two objects which form part of another sub-file (more complicated cases are equally conceivable) then this requires either a large, rapid memory with random access, or it leads to slow-working solutions with serially accessible memories such as magnetic discs. If, on the other hand, a complex merging of the sub-files as referred to above need not take place, the sub-files can be combined in a simple manner. In the case of an increasing value of the parameter an object of a following sub-file must then never have a smaller parameter value than any object of a preceding sub-file.